Oedipus Rex

I met a girl named Cassandra in my economics class and when she saw the book "Greek Tragedy" on my desk, she got excited and start telling me how much she loves stories in the book. She told me Oedipus Rex was her favorite story. Thus, I wondered what is good about this story? At first, this story reminded me, Shakespear's Hamlet when the father who is king, was destined to be murdered by his own son and therefore abondon his son to far-far away as if Laius sent his son to a shepherd fearing the prophency. Ironically, the child ended up in the hand of king Polybus and Queen Merope who were childless themselves. He was named Oedipus. Oedipus later learns about his orables and avoid himself returning to Corinth. Unfortunately, by his misunderstanding of the oracles, he ventured to Thebes and killed Laius without realizing his as the king of Thebes nor as his birth father. Interestingly, I thought Sphinx is an Egyptian figure but also make its appearance in Greek Tragedy. Later on, Oedipus becomes a king by marrying widowed Queen, Jocasta. Tragedically, Laius' actions tried to avoid the oracles have led to the success of the oracle.

William Chiu

The fame of story of Oepidus Rex became relevant to me when i began to realize that T had heard of the story long before when i was merely just a child. i had seen a comical reanactment of the tale in an episode of the cartoon sitcom "the Simpsons. " The story was definitely a breath of fresh air in comparison to the stories of war that we have been reading in the past few tales. The meaning behind the story fails to have any significance to my reality however. I cannot birng myself to believing the strength of superstitions and fate to determine the events of my life and most importantly death. I believe he could have prevented the horrible events that seemed to pile upon one another in sequence, if he would have kept his head high and ignored his fate. His eyes would have been spared and he could have even continoued to be shielded from the truth which eventually forced him to over react to the situation which unevitably changed his future.

Oedipus Rex

Oedipus Rex is one of the more interesting stories out of ancient Greece. Starring Oedipus Rex, it deals with trying to change fate; Oedipus is charged with soon killing his father, and sleeping with his mother. While most Greek tales deal with fate, this one takes the idea to task the most directly I've seen so far this year. The entire story revolves around this premise; Oedipus was abandoned by his father due to this premonition, and the reason he leaves his new adopted home is again thanks to this telling of the future. Of course, after he leaves his home he ends up killing his father and indeed claiming his mother's hand in marriage. The story ends in true tragedy fashion, with Oedipus's mother killing herself and Oedipus himself blinding himself and leaving the kingdom. Very well told story overall, and one that deals with the easily grasped concept of fate and predestined actions.

Oedipus Rex

Oedipus Rex was a fascinating play to read. It unfolded in a similar manner to a modern-day mystery story, but with gods and fate playing a role. I found the entire process of searching for the murderer to be incredibly ironic, since it is Oedipus that both initiates the search and ends up being the murderer. His character is likable, and it seems as if he is undeserving of his fate. His entire life, he has tried to be a good son, a good ruler, and a good husband, yet in the end he turns into a poor, blind beggar for the rest of his days. His only mistake was to try and avoid his fate of murdering his father and marrying his mother, yet for that one mistake he is punished heavily. I really liked the whole dramatic end scene where the chorus is narrating Oedipus' actions inside the house as he finds Jocasta dead and stabs his eyes out. The fact that the whole violent scene is never actually shown makes it much more ominous. The very end, too, where he is lamenting the fate of his daughters and then has to say goodbye to them forever is very sad. That seems to be the only point of the story: sending the message that trying to avoid one's fate will lead to ruin. I can definitely see this play as comprising part of a general campaign by the leaders of Athens to keep the populace subjugated, since the whole story is about knowing your place and accepting everything that happens to you or else facing the consequences.

Oedipus Rex

Oedipus Rex is one of the most famous plays of all time. It was written by Sophocles in a time where gods and goddesses were often featured interfering with human life. Fate was a key theme emphasized in many epics and tragedies. Oedipus Rex is no exception, and the story is built on how Oedipus, his father, Laius, and mother, Jocasta attempt to prevent their fate and end up suffering terribly.

Reading the story of Oedipus makes me feel this tragedy was intended to stir human emotion. I see it as a way of humbling people, and a reminder to make people realize some things are not always left up to their hands, though hopefully fate isn't as severe as Oedipus Rex. I cannot help but feel pity for the characters, as they did not intend harm but were punished for fate decreed it.

Willie Ho

Oedipus Rex is a play that follows the adage "Ignorance is bliss." When Oedipus did know know of his misdoings, he was fine with himself. When he takes the extra step and finds out the truth, he falls into a state of denial. He strongly and continuously hopes that what he hears is not true. During the scene which the facts are brought to light, Oedipus is the first to realize what has happened. It was he who killed Laius. However, the story retold by Queen Jocasta, as told to her by a servant, stated that Laius was killed by a group of men, and he is one man so he cannot be a group. Having heard this, he tries to hold on to the slim chance that it was not him.

Ironically, when Oedipus is ignorant to everything around him, he literally has vision. When he find out the truth and stabs his eyes out, he is no longer ignorant. He knows everything and is no longer in the dark. However, in a literal sense he is in the dark because he stabs out his own eyes due to his denial.

Oedipus Rex

In the tragedy of Oedipus Rex I found most compelling how throughout the entire play, the main plot line was for Oedipus to be killed. He supposed to be killed at birth, yet was saved by the shepherd, and then later in life when found out his true identity and relations to Jocasta and Laius he was also meant to be murdered in order to turn around the poor conditions of the land he rules . Yet he managed to live, blinded, but still alive. This is partly due to the fact that once the public learns that he is in fact his wife’s child and has killed his father; no one wants to go near him in fear of the curse that is posed upon him. He is already casted as an outcast in society and is believed to only have survived in order to continue to suffer the miserable conditions fate has given to him.

Oedipus

Oedipus by Sophocles is such an interesting play to read, in my opinion. The twists and turns are intriguing and keep the reader captivated. Reading Oedipus is almost like watching a crash; you know what is going to happen but there's no way to stop and you just can't look away. It's interesting that the punishment Sophocles chose for Oedipus was to have him blind himself and be exiled, a punishment worse then death. The only thing that bothers me about the story of Oedipus is that they waited so long to find the killer of Laius.
I have not begun reading Medea yet but I look forward to doing so because the story sounds interesting.

Oedipus Rex

This week in class we discussed the play, Oedipus Rex. We learn that Oedipus is the King of Thebes after solving the sphinx's riddle. He is married to Jocasta and is adamant about revealing the identity of Laius' murderer. As the play develops, we are introduced to a prophecy that ultimately identifies Oedipus as the murderer and the husband to his own father and mother respectively. The play is a story about the fate of one man; despite his efforts to not fulfill a prophecy, it is his actions that bring about his destiny and achieve the very thing he wanted to avoid. Oedipus is in denial through out the entire play and it does not come as shock when he stabs his eyes. I felt kind of bad for him and really enjoyed the play.

Oedipus the King

This week in class we discussed the Greek Tragedy Oedipus Rex. With the plague of Apollo ravaging the city of Thebes, fellow Thebans beseech their King, Oedipus to aid them through the difficult times. Oedipus is determined to cleanse the city of the awful affliction, and soon after the play begins, his brother in law, Creon, returns from the oracles with news about the plague. The oracles say the plague is caused by the unresolved murder of Thebes’ previous King, Laius. This sets up the major plot of the play, Oedipus’ quest to find the murderer of King Laius. One theme seen through the play and most of Greek Tragedy in general, is the inevitability of fate. Oedipus is predicated by the oracles to kill his father and marry his mother, and to prevent this, his parents send him off to be killed. But, in fact, he isn’t killed, and in fact, ends up killing his father, and marrying his mother. I enjoyed reading this play and it was interesting to read on and see how this impracticable prophecy unfolded.

Oedipus Rex

Oedipus Rex depicts the power of fate and how it is impossible to change our destiny's. As in the case of Oedipus who kills his father and marries his mother even with all the intervensions made to kill him by his father, mother and the shepheard. One of the elements that make this story a sad one is the portrayal of Oedipus's character. He is a person of contradiction and is quick to judgement because he wants to be seen as a good leader. If he had taken his time to find out about the murder of Laius privately or listened to the messenger and his wife and dropped the investigation he might not have found out about the abomination he commited. Oedipus not being able to see past what is in front of him makes his tragedy a very sad one. However one thing i didn't understand was why after Laius's death the throne was given to Oedipus, a stranger and not Creon, Jocsta's brother who is a native of Thebes.

Oedipus Rex

Believe in or not, the most famous part of the story of Oedipus is about the puzzle he resolved when he encountered with Sphinx on his way to Thebes. "What has four legs in the morning, two during the daytime, and three in the evening?" The great man used his wisdom to figure out the answer but he did not realize that his native wit was also the key that lead him to his tomb. In my opinion, the riddle plot is a very critical part of the tragedy. If Oedipus could not answer the question, he probably would be killed like many other travellers. Then, he would never get a chance to be overconfident about his immortal. The overconfidence blinded Oedipus and let him denied his fate till the very last moment. Therefore, Oedipus' overconfidence somehow strengthened his tragedy. I do not think that Oedipus should be a person who desired condemnation even though he killed his father and married with his mother. His fate was impressed at the very beginning of his life.

Felicia Ooi; Oedipus Rex

I found the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex to be a compelling story of self-denial, especially by the main character, Oedipus himself. I felt that Oedipus was initially a very sincere person, who eventually became nothing more than a victim of cruel fate. The Greek society places grave importance on the roles played by oracles and seers and they strongly believe that fate cannot be changed, that your destiny is set out for you.

To me, Oedipus was really nothing more than a victim of his fate. Before he was born he was doomed to kill his father and marry his mother. As a result, his father wanted to kill him as an infant but fate won out and Oedipus grew up as a prince of Corinth instead of as the rightful prince of Thebes. Oedipus too places faith in fate, and because he did not wish to kill his adoptive father and marry his adoptive mother, he headed away from Corinth back to Thebes and from there on sealed his fate.

Oedipus became a character who was willfully blinded, first to the truth about his fate. Soon after he realized the truth, he physically blinded himself because of the great crime he had unintentionally committed. I actually felt quite sorry for Oedipus because he was just trying to avoid the dark fate prophesied about him, but wound up falling into fate’s trap anyway.

Willie Ho

From what I have read of Oedipus Rex so far, it has proven to be yet another greed tragedy. It stays true to the similar style seen in Agamemnon. The chorus remains a strong part of the play, as a filler for information. So the play is a bit coincidental in its nature. Oedipus Rex kills the king unknowingly and becomes king himself, only to later find that he was the killer and kills himself.

Oedipus doesn't seem like much of a likable character though. During the exchange of words between him and Tiresias, you notice his arrogance in the conversation. Tiresias has been kind enough to give him valuable information, although worded a bit strangely, but Oedipus can only make witty remarks and call flaunt his greatness. He gets rid of the sphinx and gets ahead of himself. Perhaps this is the infamous hubris that is so common among the Greek heroic tragedians?

Margaret Yoon: Oedipus Rex

Even though I have read Oedipus Rex a few times before, my reading of it this time was different in that I had a more heightened awareness to the rhetorical devices Sophocles uses. For instance, dramatic irony is used almost excessively, for the reader or the audience know Oedipus’ fate, even before Oedipus becomes suspicious of his past. Whether it is the Chorus, Tiresias, or another character foreshadowing the impending agony truth brings to Oedipus and Thebes, the reader is fully aware of the course of events, which makes it more effective. I felt a sense of dread that continued to build throughout the play because I knew that something terrible would follow after Oedipus learns he has killed his father and slept with his mother. I could not even imagine what it must be like to experience such a thing-it is a shame beyond shame.

Oedipus’ ignorance reminded me of an Italian short story called “Una Voce,” or “A Voice” by Luigi Pirandello. In the story, there is a blind man, Silvio, who falls in love with Lydia, or more like his idea of her. Because he cannot see her, he just imagines her as a stunningly beautiful woman, which hurts Lydia and makes her run away in the end before Silvio receives his sight. I just thought that it was similar to Oedipus’ ignorance because Silvio is so blinded (not only physically but metaphorically) by his own design of Lydia that he fails to accept the possibility that she is just an “average” but kindhearted lady. Likewise, Oedipus fails to accept the truth in the beginning because he is blinded by his pursuit to find the person guilty for Thebes’ calamity, when it is himself.

One thing that confused me a little were the references to people or gods on p. 114, when the text mentions Cyllene’s lord, Pan, and Dionysus, because I do not have enough background to grasp the connection to further the ambiguity and anxiousness of knowing Oedipus’ origins.

Opedius Rex

The tale of Opedius Rex (or Opedius the King) is probably the most twisted tale we've read so far. Focusing on the story of Opedius, who is predicted to kill his father and sleep with his mother, this Greek tragedy deals heavily with the theme of free will. The question is how much a person has a say in their own lives, and how much is their fate determined before they are even born. In this story, the tellers of fate come in the form of oracles and prophets, who tell those who listen what will happen to them. In reality, however, few people can honestly say their fates have been accurately predicted; the popular methods of fortune tellers, and horoscopes rarely come true as they are told. Still, people who believe in these methods of telling the future hold fast to the idea of pre-ordained history, and that every action we take has been predicted and taken into account. This idea is based on somewhat flimsy evidence, but is still widely believed, as seen by the proliferance of horoscopes in newspapers and online every day.